Lumber-piler



(No Model.)

P. O. GUSTAPSON.

LUMBER FILER.

No. 392,727. Patented Nov. 13, 1888.

l v itmeooeo L Uivrrnn dramas arnr fi ament PETER O. GUSTAFSON, OF ROCK ISLAND, ILLINOIS.

LUMBER PILER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 392,727, dated November 13, 1888.

Application filed July 9, 1888. Serial No. 279,393. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern-.-

Be it known that 1, PETER O. GUSTAFSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Rock Island, in the county of Rock Island and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Lumber-Pliers; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to the annexed drawings, making a part of this specification, and to the letters and figures of reference marked thereon.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in the means for piling lumber; and it has for its object to save time and avoid loss in piling lumber; and to such ends and to such others as the invention may pertain the same consists in the peculiar construction, combinations, and arrangement and adaptation of parts, all as more fully hereinafter described, shown in the drawings, and then particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

In the ordinary method of piling lumber the manufactured lumber is usually drawn on trucks to the various parts of the lumber-yard where it is to be piled. An inch board, twelve to eighteen inches wide and sixteen to eighteen feet long, wet and fresh from the log, is very heavy and also limber. In consequence of the weight and comparative thinness quite a number of the boards are broken in handling and piling. Broken boards mean loss of time to the pilers and an additional loss of time in gathering them up and taking them back to the mill and having them recut into shorter boards. It further means a loss of money to the company, as the shorter lumber is invariably sold cheaper than the longer lumber.

Then it is desired to pile the boards onto a high pile, it takes two men constantly employed, one standing on top of the pile laying the boards and the other on the ground raising the boards up to the piler. Heretofore it has been the custom to take a piece of board and shove it into the pile between the layers and use it as a fulcrum upon which to rest the board that is to be raised from the ground to the piler. One end of the board is lifted from the ground and placed upon this projecting stick or fulcrum upon its fiat side, one end projecting three or four feet over the fulcrum. The man on the ground then places his heft upon the short end of the. board and raises the long end up toward the sky, so that the pilcr can seize it and draw it up to him self. In this operation, if there be any knot or weakness in the board, it is very liable to break of its own weight. I propose to avoid all this liability to breakage, and at the same time lessen the labor of raising the boards to the piler.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the let ters of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which,-

Figure 1 is a side elevation illustrating my means of piling the lumber. Fig. 2 is an end view of a portion of the pile with my improved fulcrum applied thereto. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fulcrum detached with part broken away.

Referring to the details of the drawings by letter, A designates a pile of boards, and B a truck or platform from which the boards A are to be raised to the top of the pile.

My improved device is designated by the letter C, and is composed of the following elements: a is a yoke or substantially U'shaped piece of material, preferably metal, provided with the pin or shank 1). Another U-shaped piece, 0, which I term a pivoted fulcrum, has its free ends preferably turned slightly outward with rounded portions (1, so as to form sort of guides for the boards to properly center them, is pivoted to the upright portions of the yoke a by means of the transverse pivotpinc, and preferably on this fulcrum I place a rest, f, which projects a little beyond the fulcrum, as seen in Fig. 3.

In practice the device is placed with its shank or pin 12 inserted in a plank or the like properly supported by the pile on which the boards are to be piled. I prefer the device shown in Fig. 2 for supporting the fulcrum. This consists of a piece of oak or other suit able strong material, D, provided at one end with a longitudinal slot, 5 which receives one board of the pile, the board above and the one beneath the strip D serving to firmly hold the same in place, as will be readily understood from Fig. 2. The pin 1) of the device is placed in a vertical hole in this piece D.

When the pile is very high, I employ two or 5-m0re of these devices arranged at a suitable distance apart, as shown in Fig. 1, placing a projecting piece, It, near the opposite end of the pile, as seen in the same figure.

To raise the boards from the truck to the piler, I first take a board and placeit between the arms 0 of the fulcrum on its edge, in con tradistinction to laying it on its face or flatwise. Then, by applying power to the short end of the board, the fulcrum will tilt on its board. If the pile is high and it is thought desirable to use more than one of the devices,

the board is first placed on the lower one; then the short arm or end of the board is depressed till the other endcan be rested on the projecting piece h, as shown by dotted lines in Fig. 1; then the short end is raised onto the second device, and when power is applied to said short end the board is easily raised to the 25 piler, as shown by dotted lines in the same figure.

It has been found from experience that the raising of the boards upon edge instead of flatwise insures a great saving both in time and 0 amount of lumber wasted, and while the means shown are what at present I consider preferable I do not wish to limit myself to the exact construction shown, as it is evident that the essence of the invention would not be de parted from if changes in the apparatus were made within certain limits.

\Vhat I claim as new is 1. In a device for the purpose described, a rocking fulcrum having sides to embrace a board, a support for said fulcrum, and a lat- 0 eral support for the whole, substantially as described.

2. In a device for the purpose described, a lateral support and a yoke on said support, combined with a rocking fulcrum on said yoke, substantially as shown, and for the purpose specified.

3. In a device for the purpose specified, a yoke having a shank, and a fulcrum having portions to embrace a board, said fulcrum pivoted to said yoke and provided with a rest, substantially as described.

In testimony that I claim the above I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence of two witnesses.

PETER O. GUSTAFSON.

\Vitnesses:

OLIVER OLsEN, L. G. BLANDING. 

